What Masha Saw and Heard
by SailorVegeta13
Summary: The Mew Mews are certainly close, but none of them know all the others' dirty little secrets. And if they knew just what everyone did on their spare days, they'd certainly be shocked! The only one who witnesses some of the more memorable scenes is that beloved pink fluffball, Masha; this story documents what he observes as members of TMM, the aliens, and Masha himself find love.
1. Taruto & Pudding in the Park

_A/N: Kishigo, Pai x Lettuce, Taruto x Pudding. Other couples available upon request (via PM or review). I haven't given this ultra-kawaii couple their own fanfic yet, so they'll get the first chapter of this story.  
_

Chapter One: Taruto/Pudding in the Park

"You're late, na no da."

The pigtailed alien child inwardly cringed. For all his girlfriend's childishness and young age, she cared a lot about faux pas (or, rather, the avoidance thereof) and keeping appointments.

"Sorry?" he offered tentatively. _I don't suppose that'll help._

As always, Pudding seemed to read his mind. "No, it won't help, na no da." She scowled for as long as she could—which wasn't very long. "I'll tell you how you can make it up to me though, Taru-Taru!"

"Don't call me Taru-Taru!" The complaint was reflexive, not born of any _real_ annoyance or expectation that she would listen.

"Do you want Pudding to forgive you or not? Hey, why _are_ you late anyway, na no da?" Her keen eyes fixed on him as though they could read the truth that way.

Taruto didn't really want to answer that. He didn't want the youngest Mew Mew to think about just how mad his older brothers would be if they knew that he snuck out to meet her. Not that they knew for sure; but he had a definite feeling that Pai at least had figured it out. (Kisshu was too obsessed with the pink Mew Mew to think about anyone else's personal life.)

Of course, the youngest alien boy suspected that there was something between his purple-haired brother and Pudding's "Lettuce-oneechan."

The yellow Mew Mew was still waiting for an answer. She had really matured in these past months, and had a much longer attention span. "Well? Pudding would like an answer, na no da."

"I, um...I got held up at home. Pai had this project for something or other." _Please just drop it._

It was hard to say whether she responded to what he'd said or what he'd thought when she sighed, still dissatisfied, "Okay, na no da."

"So—?" He really _did_ want to make it up to her. It was so hard on the brown-haired boy when the monkey-girl was mad at him.

"So what, na no da?" Her wicked grin told him that she knew perfectly well what he was getting at. She just felt like being difficult.

_And maybe I deserve it. _Sometimes Taruto still wasn't sure why Pudding agreed to meet him. "So, how can I make it up to you?"

She tilted her head, pretending to think. "Taru-Taru, you want to make it up to Pudding, na no da?" Before he could answer, her smile turned sweet and innocent—_too_ innocent. "How sweet, na no da! Okay, Pudding wants an ice cream cone, na no da!"

He'd had a feeling that something like this was coming. "And you want me to get it for you, don't you?" he asked with an involuntary smile. Already he was planning how to snatch two ice cream cones without having to pull out the remainder of his Earth money.

"Yup, na no da!"

"Then you're going to have to earn it," he teased. "You distract him"—he gestured toward the ice cream vendor—"and I'll get the ice cream."

Her smirk was as mischievous as his. "Let's go, na no da," she said conspirationially.

...

The ice-cream vendor, a pleasant-faced middle-aged guy, smiled at the cute little girl who approached him. "Hello, little girl, what would you like?"

"Um..." _This is harder than Pudding thought it would be, na no da!_ "What flavors do you have, na no da?"

_I just _love_ it when people ask! That's when I can get rid of the less popular ones, like banana-root beer—for some weird reason, that one doesn't sell so well._ He started enthusiastically and meticulously listing off flavors, walking around the cart to slide a cabinet open, pointing to each flavor he described.

Pudding barely glanced at the flash of red behind the man. She knew that when he put his plan into action, she would hear—

Screams split the air. "Ahh! It's a mutated Venus flytrap!"

Yeah. _That, na no da. _She thought sarcastically as the ice cream vendor, with the rest of the park visitors, ran for his life.

_...  
_

Taruto and Pudding sat on a park bench, eating ice cream cones. Hers was mango; his was the same.

"Nice job, na no da," she congratulated him. "It worked perfectly."

He grinned. "Of course it did."

They talked for quite a while about inconsequential things. Just enjoying the July day together like a normal couple.

...

A certain pink robot flew away covertly. His processing abilities told him that this was something that Ryou shouldn't see—he'd be _very_ angry, and who knew _what_ he'd do or say?—so as he returned to Cafe Mew Mew, he erased the only evidence of Pudding and Taruto's happy day in the park.

_A/N: Is it any good? Review please; ideas welcome!_


	2. Unrequited Love in the Cafe

_A/N: I have to admit I really don't quite know what do with Mint's love life. It's not that I don't like her; she's one of my favorite Mew Mews, and I agree she should get more time in the spotlight. But the anime doesn't give me much to work with, and I didn't really feel like putting in an OC. Sorry if this pairing doesn't make sense.  
_

Chapter Two: Unrequited Love

There he went again. Was he trying to wear a groove in the floor?

Mint quietly put down her teacup, hoping he'd look up—and yet wishing he wouldn't. It was so confusing! Was love like this for everybody?

Observing the intensity of his blue eyes from so close, the lorikeet-girl wondered just what was going on in that genius's brain. Worry about the Mew Project? Concern for Akasaka-san, who hadn't seemed to be feeling too well recently?

She followed his gaze. No, he wasn't thinking about any of these things—judging by where he was looking.

Shirogane Ryou was staring at Lettuce. Again.

Some days Mint really hated the green-haired girl. Even though Lettuce was one of her best friends, and it was hardly Lettuce's fault that Ryou didn't even know Mint liked him—let alone return her feelings—it was hard not to be envious of the girl who got Ryou's attention without wanting or needing it.

Lettuce was standing by the wall, talking on her cell phone. Her cheeks were flushed with happiness; her big blue eyes radiated bliss. Mint suspected she was talking to Pai—there seemed to be something between the Mew Mew and alien. (For one thing, they never clashed when the two groups met in battle. Also, they gave each other loaded looks whenever they crossed paths.)

_Does Ryou know who Lettuce likes? Does anyone, besides me? _Mint wondered idly.

She glanced at her red-haired comrade, who was carrying several plates of cake. Ichigo was too thickheaded—there was no way she'd pick on up something so subtle when she didn't even seem to register Kisshu's repeated declarations of love.

Akasaka-san? He might—the man didn't seem to miss anything that anyone did or _thought_. Likely he knew all of everyone's secrets.

Lettuce herself probably knew she liked Pai, judging by how they interacted.

It was doubtful that Ryou knew—for a prodigy, he had exasperatingly selective powers of observation and analysis.

That left Zakuro, who seemed to know everything but never let on _just_ how much she deduced.

"Onee-sama?" Burning with curiosity and the desire to share her discovery with _someone_, Mint decided to just ask.

The model turned slowly, her long purple locks swinging beautifully. "What is it, Mint?"

"Um..." The blue-haired girl stepped closer to whisper. "Do you know who Lettuce likes?"

Zakuro's response was rather unexpected. "Who Lettuce likes is her business, and hers alone. It does not matter whether _I_ know or not."

"Oh." Mint bit down on her bottom lip. "Okay."

She returned to her tea, though her heart wasn't in it. _Onee-sama..._

_...  
_

Ryou covertly glanced at Lettuce from beneath his long blond bangs. He couldn't help it—even though he had a feeling there was someone the porpoise-girl liked, and it wasn't him, he couldn't deny the feelings he had for her.

Her pale-green hair was gorgeous, and her big round glasses only amplified the mesmerizing allure of her eyes—a softer shade of blue than his own. She had so much love and compassion for everyone and everything, she even tried to understand the aliens attacking Earth!

The young man hated the aliens for various reasons. First and foremost—at least according to his intellect—they were _attacking Earth. _That seemed a perfectly legitimate reason to him—and everyone around him.

Secondly, they were annoyingly more than just opponents.

No one could miss the way Kisshu chased after Ichigo persistently despite her continuous rejections. The green-haired alien just wouldn't give up.

Then there was Taruto—he and Pudding got along extremely well, with their shared young age and love of mischief. At least this friendship didn't affect them when they fought.

And that left Pai.

The stoic purple-haired alien was Ryou's least favorite of them all. He was so cold, with intelligence to rival the blonde's. Hatching plot after plot to "destroy" the Mew Mews and annihilate the inhabitants of Earth, the eldest alien was clearly the biggest threat.

And the way he _looked_ at Lettuce! As if he wouldn't get another chance to try to analyze her the way he did everything else. As if he _couldn't_ classify her according to his scientific learnings.

As if he loved her.

And as if that wasn't bad enough—Lettuce seemed to feel something for him, beyond sympathy or determination to reach a cease-fire.

Even if he didn't want to admit it, Ryou was jealous. _Very_ jealous.

...

While Ichigo may not have observed all the not-so-secret staring her teammates were doing, someone did.

That someone was fluffy and pink—a ball of fur and metal parts, programmed to record and analyze this kind of thing.

But even though Masha was supposed to keep this information, he quietly erased it from his memory.

He figured that this wasn't something any of them would want others to know.

_A/N: Don't we all wish we could forget things as easily as Masha? _

_I know Mint x Ryou is completely unsupported and maybe a little weird, but I think they actually go together quite well. (Besides, if you try to avoid OC's then they're the ones left over.) And after all, anything is possible (especially in shojo manga/anime)!  
_


	3. Kishigo in the Alleyway

_A/N: This is definitely my favorite couple. Kishigo forever!  
_

Chapter Three: Kishigo in the Alleyway

Humming as she walked cheerfully home from school, the redheaded girl had let her guard down—something she let herself do a lot more often these days, given the circumstances. After all, what did she have to worry about now?

"Yo, Koneko-chan!" A green-haired teenager swooped in out of absolutely nowhere.

Any of Ichigo's friends, had they been observing this scene—and one of them was, for that matter—would have expected her to shriek, pull out her Mew Mew pendant and turn into Mew Ichigo, run away, and/or some combination of the above.

While she didn't exactly do any of these things, the leader of the Mew Mews didn't take this—what she clearly considered sexual harassment—lying down. Even though she wasn't as opposed to the alien boy's company as she would have been a couple months ago, the idea of succumbing was absolutely not one she could entertain.

"Kisshu," she sighed in utter exasperation. "Why won't you just leave me alone? Can't you see it's useless to keep bugging me?"

Though his ears just barely drooped, the teen gave no other signs of acknowledging Ichigo's latest rejection. After all, Kisshu was exposed to them so much that he was _almost_ immune. (It certainly helped that he _knew_ that she'd have to give in sometime. And given what he'd heard only yesterday...) "Ne, Koneko-chan, I hear the tree-hugger dumped you. Is it true?"

The cat-girl's weary expression was immediately replaced with something else. Something—_sadder. _Her alien stalker immediately regretted bringing up his too-perfect rival._  
_

"Aoyama-kun," whispered the heartbroken girl. A single tear streaked down her cheek. Suddenly it was as if the alien teen wasn't right there in front of her.

"Why?" she sobbed, tears flowing freely now. "Aoyama-kun... why did you just suddenly break it off?" The pain in her voice was heartrendingly clear.

Kisshu hovered lower until he was eye-to-eye with the only girl he'd ever loved. "Ichigo," he whispered. Tentatively he wrapped his arms around her, expecting her to push him away any second.

Instead, the redhead put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

Encouraged, the green-haired boy slowly dropped onto the low fence that was conveniently located to his immediate right. To his surprise, Ichigo didn't protest when he pulled her into his lap.

...

Flapping his little pink wings hard in order to remain airborne, Ichigo's smallest friend was shedding tears of his own. Each was so (relatively) heavy that Masha rocked side to side as they dropped. "Ichigo is sad," he observed disconsolately, "and so is Masha."

The robot once known as R2000 could hardly expect to fulfill a vow of revenge against his namesake. All he could do was erase the poignant scene he'd just witnessed—Ryou didn't need to know that the active leader of the Mew Mews had been so close (both physically and emotionally) to one of the attacking aliens.

_A/N: Sorry it was so short! I'll try to get the next one out soon. _

_Just so you know, this fic probably won't be very long at all. The stories will probably be two-shots, and then there will be a conclusion. Unless I get reviews/PMs requesting otherwise, that's most likely how this will go._

_Review please! If I get a lot of reviews, then I'll post more of these.  
_


	4. Pai & Lettuce in the Library

_A/N: Okay, I admit I haven't updated in a reeaaally long time. Gomenasai, everyone. Enjoy.  
_

Chapter Four: Pai/Lettuce in the Library

Reaching up as high as she could on tiptoe, the mild green-haired girl was getting quite annoyed. _Why must they stack books on shelves so high that half the library users can't reach them? And never a stool or a stepladder to be found anywhere! To think I once practically worshipped this place!_

A large, callused hand reached over Lettuce's head and brought down the book she'd been straining for. There was almost a smile on Pai's face as he handed his girlfriend the novel. "This one, right? Or was it the one next to it?"

"No, you got it right." The delicate flush of Lettuce's pale face went well with her pale-green hair, the purple-haired Ikisatashi noted, even as he wondered why he'd picked up on such a seemingly insignificant detail. Not for the first time, though, Taruto's older brother brushed away the analytical and emotionless—and usually dominant—side of his personality.

"So," the eldest Ikisatashi began thoughtfully, then paused. Thinking better of what he'd been about to say, he asked quickly, "Are any of the other Mew Mews around?"

"No," the porpoise-girl replied calmly. "Ichigo-san is off somewhere with Aoyama-san, Mint-san has ballet practice, Pudding-san is at home with her siblings, and Zakuro-san has some modeling work to do." Her smile was absolutely radiant, full of shy happiness. "So what about us, Pai-san? What are we going to do today?" Despite—or perhaps because of—the girl's growing confidence in this relationship, she was unable to keep her gaze from drifting to the book she'd been trying to get for so long.

"Well," Pai thought aloud, an uncharacteristically mischievous glint in his dark eyes, "we could go out to an amusement park and spend the day screaming as painted machines drop over hills of metal rails, threatening our safety and sanity. Or we could stay in here, the well-known library with the most intensive collection of books I've ever seen, and increase our natural intellects, gaining knowledge and ability."

Lettuce's quiet laughter didn't seem out of place, since the only one who heard it was used to the setting and situation, feeling the little leap his usually-steady heart took. Though the purple-haired scientist didn't much like to show how his feelings, he allowed his facial muscles to relax into a smile. "Library it is, then." Not that there had really been much of a question in the first place.

"Of course," was the simple reply as the green-haired girl flipped the book open with pale slim fingers. As her gaze inevitably dropped to the worn pages, she added, "Don't tell me you expected any different."

The purple-haired alien smiled a little wider as he reached for a book of his own.

* * *

"We should probably finish up here," sighed Pai warningly. "It's getting late; quite frankly, I am rather surprised that neither Kisshu nor Taruto has yet launched a Chimera Attack today. As their brother, I am very aware of the fact that they had one planned." He wondered if the two more immature aliens were secretly meeting up with certain Mew Mews. Nothing escaped their scientist brother, and his sensors had often caught the two couples—well, in Kisshu and Ichigo's case, _possible couple_—together where no one was observing. Well, no one but a certain pink robot, to be exact. (Yeah, Pai's sensors could even pick up Masha's signal.)

Reluctantly Lettuce closed the book, pulling a library card out of her skirt pocket. "Well, the good thing is that this is a library. I can finish these books at home."

Calmly she piled the books on the checkout counter, the action almost automatic after so many repetitions. Beside greeting the librarian with a sweet smile, the green-haired girl never took her eyes from the eldest Ikisatashi. Once the young man had finished checking out Lettuce's books, he handed them over with a rather lecherous smile. His sweaty hand reached for the one she laid atop the books, at a slow speed that he seemed to think sexy and alluring.

A second before the pervert's hand reached the girl's, a larger, callused hand was drawing the books—and Lettuce's hand—off the desk. "Let's go, Lettuce-san," suggested Pai emotionlessly.

As the pair walked off, the dejected librarian heard the girl tease, "You know, you're pretty cute when you're jealous, Pai-kun."

* * *

Flapping his little pink wings, Masha didn't even need to think before he deleted the afternoon's footage. Sure, Ryou had ordered him to keep an eye on Lettuce—almost literally; Masha's cameras were focused through his eyes—today; but the fluffy pink robot took orders only from Ichigo.

Besides, he rather liked Lettuce. Not the way the aliens like some of the Mew Mews—but Masha definitely preferred the porpoise-girl to, say, snobby Mint.

Ryou didn't need to know that either, though.

_A/N: So how was it? Here's a deal: you review, I'll update.  
_


	5. Keiichiro & Zakuro in the Kitchen

_A/N: I can't believe I had this sitting around, and just forgot about it. Actually I finished it last month. But here you go, at last._

Chapter Five: Keiichiro/Zakuro in the Kitchen

The purple-and-white-clad supermodel covertly tugged at her already-perfect hair as she headed back into the Café kitchen with her waitress's silver serving tray. Normally, heading inside to relay customer orders wouldn't have fazed her at all. But with some of the more recent... changes in the relationships around the Café, many things had changed.

"Hey, Keiichiro-san," she greeted the eldest of those few people who were directly affected by the Mew Project. Her eyes shone with their usual wise, sophisticated yet slightly teasing gleam. (There had always been a bit of an I-know-something-you-don't aura to Fujiwara Zakuro. It had greatly boosted the popularity of her image and merchandise. Not just a media-captivating technique, though, it was as much a part of the young woman as was her curvaceous figure, or her fair skin.)

The brown-haired man smiled pleasantly. "Hello, Zakuro-san. So, what'll it be?" Though his exterior outlook remained placid, his heart was pounding. As it had for only one other woman in his life. And that had been many years ago, now.

"Um, actually we're about to close; there aren't any more orders coming in."

"Oh, I see."

"I—I wanted to ask you—um..." _Wait, where did that come from? I wasn't planning to ask him anything!_ An uncharacteristic blush colored her poreless face. "Never mind. I forgot what I was going to say."

"In that case... Zakuro-san, would you... go out on a date with me this Saturday?" the young man suddenly blurted, losing all of his usual poise and dignity.

Both of them were equally surprised by the words. Perhaps more surprising—at least equally so, if not more—was the supermodel's reply: "I'd love to."

Once she had returned from the locker room in her normal clothes, the wolf-Mew Mew pulled a piece of paper and a pen from her purse. Quickly she scribbled her cell phone number on it, and added underneath, "Call me!" Then she finished by signing her name at the bottom, with a heart. Keiichiro wasn't in the kitchen, so she just tucked it under a jar so that he'd be sure to see it.

* * *

So it was a happy pair that exited the movie theater together, holding hands like a teenage couple. Same elated youthfulness, same lack of self-consciousness, same pure, brilliant love. Simply put, this was the "true love" that so many people go through life without.

"I thought the movie was amazing," Zakuro commented for lack of something less embarrassing to say. (She'd hated the storyline.)

_Well, if she thought it was good, I won't tell her how much I thought it sucked. But since it's not like I want to lie, either..._ "I'm glad you liked it."

* * *

The little pink robot's thoughts—well, mental/calculation processes; but let's just call them "thoughts" for simplicity—whirled as he automatically erased the footage. Since Ryou had recently been pretty moody in the way that many people associate with lovesick teenagers, it probably wouldn't help if he knew that his closest friend and almost-lifelong partner was more distracted from the Mew Project than the blonde.

Recently, too, the prodigious teenage boy had had so much free time that he'd created a second robot, having gifted the first—Masha himself—to Ichigo. R3000 was a girl, colored in a powder-blue shade that looked well against Masha's pink.

Whoever said robots couldn't feel emotions, they were dead wrong. Or maybe Shirogane Ryou's creations were exceptions to that rule.

Because if Masha didn't love R3000, then what was this strange reaction he had to her presence?

_A/N: While not demanded, reviews would be greatly appreciated—and they'd motivate me to get the next chapter finished earlier._


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